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About

“Even the longest journey must begin where you stand.”~ Lao Tzu

TAU ZERO…

1. Provides the latest news about star flight (36,000 subscribers)News is extracted from the professional literature and shared in more accessible terms. Each article includes a moderated discussion forum. The span of coverage includes:

2. Finds today’s pioneersTau Zero scans the scientific literature, looking for those researchers who take intellectual risks beyond the comfort zone of their peers and develop them soundly. We then attempt to forge collaborations for cross-fertilization and efficiency.

3. Contributes to the pool of knowledgeAssists pioneers and scouts to make progress on the next-step challenges. This progress is compiled into our publicly accessible “Discoveries Log.”

4. Creates educational opportunities (Still in development)With the assistance of the Ohio Aerospace Institute, we are creating opportunities for graduate students to answer relevant questions as part of their graduate studies.

TAU ZERO – THE NAME

"Tau Zero" is both a physics term (proper time, t, in relativistic motion) as well as the title of a science fiction novel by POUL ANDERSON about interstellar flight which inspired many young readers to become scientists and engineers. That combination of science and inspirational fiction is part of Tau Zero.

Equally symbolic is that this name is in the language of math, a language shared by many cultures back to ancient times.

WHY

All humanity lives here... Only here. (Earth-Moon as seen from the Voyager spacecraft in 1977 from over 7 million miles away. Credit: NASA)

Right now our survival depends on this planet's environment. Our society has no 'Plan B.' Space flight could extend humanity to the Moon, perhaps to Mars, but to really ensure that humanity thrives, Tau Zero pursues the greater challenge of interstellar flight.

By reaching beyond the attention-span of other space endeavors, we will discover breakthroughs they cannot.

While reaching for the stars, we will create benefits right here on Earth.

WHERE

As seen in this photo of Spaceship Earth, specifically its North American Continent, Tau Zero's headquarters is located on right-hand shoreline of Lake Erie (that reflective body of water), roughly at that nose-shaped protrusion... plus a little farther to the right. In this image, north is in the lower left direction. Image Credit: Image Science and Analysis Lab, NASA JSC.